Well, I managed to get the Color OneScanner set up, but I had to move some furniture around to do so. It also has to serve as my "table" for the mouse. Seeing as how the OneScanner is built like a tank, I shouldn't worry about damaging the scanner. It won't be like this forever. Once I get settled in my new place, I will actually have space to place Connie and her peripherals.

I was also searching for info on the Color OneScanner, my particular model being M3043. There isn't much information on the Internet about it, and as of this writing, there is only one listing on eBay for the same model of scanner.

I'm wondering if the Color OneScanner M3043 is a rare peripheral? If it is, then I was very lucky to get at $25.

I also tested the scanner. It works wonderfully. Now I just need to acquire either a USB Floppy Drive or blank ZIP disks/USB Zip Drive.

I'm surprised how simple Mac OS Sytem 7 is. If you want to remove and reinstall an extension, the process is very easy. You just have to delete the old extension along with the Prefs file (if any) and re-install it off a CD-ROM or the Mac OS CD. Same goes with applications. Removing the failed install of Oregon Trail 4th Edition was simple.

Mac OS X is similar, but I believe it puts configuration files deeper into the system, much like the Windows Registry. Manual removal is much more difficult under OSX. Apple never includes a built in Add/Remove control panel. You instead have to buy a third party program. It's only $5, but still... Apple needs to include such a utility since manually removing OS X programs can break the system.

This will be the last Connie-related post I make for a while, but I present my plan for transferring data between her and my Windows PCs....

I shall acquire a Zip 250 USB disk drive from eBay or a thrift store, or wherever I can find one cheap. They hold more data than a 1.44mb floppy disk, and the drive Connie came with is a Zip 100, which means I can use disks with the maximum of 100mb in size. It's paltry compared to using a DVD-R, but for transferring scan files, it's no big deal. Zip 250mb drives are also compatible with Windows 8, according to Microsoft.

I will also need to stock up on several 100mb Zip Disks, preferably new from eBay, but used ones shall do just fine as long as they work and I can erase them.

That was Apple's motto during the 1980s and 1990s. Apple was indeed different at the time. While I am a Windows person, I have come to appreciate how simple and elegant Apple computers from that era are. It was simplicity and advanced technology in the perfect balance. If you wanted simple software, you got simple software. Wanted advanced programs? You got 'em.

Macintosh computers were also built to last. Take a look at Connie, or any Apple computer from that era. Chances are, they are still running just fine even today. They need all sorts of workarounds to transfer data between those Macintoshes and modern systems, but the fact that they still work just shows you how Apple made them to last for years. Classic Mac OS was the same way. If I wanted to, Connie can be upgraded all the way to OS 9. I just choose not to.

But ever since Apple transitioned to the Intel platform in 2006, they have become the company they wanted to avoid. Rather than making machines last for years, they instead make computers that will end up becoming obsolete two or three years down the line. They are still built well, but they are starting to limit upgradeability in certain ways (soldered-on RAM anyone?). They are also making newer OSX versions run on the most recent Macs. If you have a Mac that is more than five years old, chances are you can't run Yosemite when it comes out. Speaking of OSX, it's become extremely complex. It looks simple, and it shares many of the same design ideas as classic Mac OS, but it also adds in features that occasional Mac users will never use, such as iCloud and iTunes. This is fine for the Mac Addicts, but for people like me, it adds to the software bloat. Managing applications and extensions has also become tedious and potentially system breaking. May as well use CCleaner to uninstall applications now instead of just dragging the folder and prefs to the trash.

There is also planned obsolescence. That iPod touch you got just two years ago? It's probably starting to become sluggish with certain apps. It appears Apple upgrades hardware so fast that people are compelled to upgrade to a newer iPhone/iPod model, even if they got the previous model last year. It's a tactic that concerns me greatly. Home computers were designed to last for years and years with upgrades along the way. With Apple now limiting hardware upgrades as well as limiting the types of Macs that can update to OSX Yosemite, other companies may follow their act. As for cellphones and tablets, they can't really be upgraded, but they should be designed with forward thinking specifications so they too can last for years rather than becoming obsolete six months later.

It's these reasons why I have become disenfranchised with the current Apple, and I happened to acquire Lilly around the time the downward spiral was starting. I might dig Lilly out to test Yosemite, but in the end, she will continue to collect dust.